Rockhold Victorious In Return, Yet Continuous To Showcases Lapses.
Luke Rockhold emerged victorious against David Branch on Saturday night during his headlining performance at Fight Night 116, yet failed to show improvement in the area which has been his achilles heal, lapses in concentration.
Rockhold managed to make the bout against Branch look rather lob-sided after forcing a submission via ground strikes in the second round, but this didn't seem to be the case earlier on in the fight. In the first round, Rockhold showcased a very lackadaisical defensive stance and attitude which enabled Branch to come in close for multiple times with decent combinations that touched Luke, and also gave opportunity for Branch to initiate the clinch against the cage, as well as a brief stint on the ground.
Though only a few of the combinations thrown Branch seemed to really concern Rockhold, Branch is also not the same level of fighter as someone such as Michael Bisping or Robert Whittaker, both which would absolutely capitalize and hurt Rockhold with the same kind of lazy, hands down backpedaling sort of defense he showed against Branch.
Defense set aside, Rockhold did put his world class striking and ground game on display during the bout as well. Throughout the fight Luke threw out the idea of "ring rust," and managed to stay busy with his footwork and combinations all night. Most notably, the one-two combinations and left head and leg kicks helped keep the top notch Ju-Jitsu practitioner in Branch at bay and made it very difficult for him to attempt a take down. Finally in the second round, Rockhold was the one able to bring the fight to the ground with a single leg trip off of the clinch break and flawlessly achieved the mount with a single transition, eventually taking his back and delivering some of the most brutal and Luke Rockhold type punishment we have seen.
Fight Night 116 was an all around great card that was happily capped off with the return of Luke Rockhold, but this victory needs to be a short lived one for him, as many of the opponents that are waiting for him will not let him get away with the same type of laziness he has been showcasing in his last couple of bouts. With all that said, it is good to have you back, Mr. Rockhold.